Someone Like You
by MrPresident
Summary: This story starts just after Ryan has been taken into the Cohen's house. He has not met Marissa yet and Seth hasn't met Summer either. Author's note [I'm in the process of rewriting chapter six]
1. The Beginning

**Someone Like You**

**Chapter 1 – The Beginning**

Seth sat cross leg on the cream white carpet with a Playstation controller in his hand and his eyes focused on the television screen in front of him displaying the graphic violent result of when an expert ninja and his trusty mythical sword is attacked by an army of orcs wielding rusty axes. He was wearing a pair of dark brown trousers, a brown and orange polo top with the collar firmly down, and a pair of spotless expensive white sneakers. The young man smiled gleefully at the destruction he had wreaked. His eyes sparked as he surveyed the computer generated body parts strewn across the windswept landscape. Then to his immense satisfaction the words 'Level' and 'Completed' flashed up on the screen to a triumphant trumpet serenade. It was at this point that Seth felt the presence of another person in the room; a stationary figure standing by the door that led out into the garden. He slowly turned his head from the television screen to the door. Standing in the doorway stood a mysterious muscular young man. His features were mostly hidden by the shadow cast upon him as a result of the sun being almost directly behind his left shoulder. Seth could see an unkempt crumple of sandy-coloured hair, a white slightly worn wife-beater shirt, a pair of ordinary-looking jeans, and a black leather wristband. A tense silence existed between the two as each checking the other one out.

"Err…" Seth said with notable nervousness. "Hi."

"Hi." The mysterious figure said without a trace of emotion.

"I'm Seth."

"Ryan."

"Are you…? Err…" Seth hesitated.

Ryan took a step into the house. "The kid who stole a car? Got thrown out by his mother? And spent the night in your pool house?" The questions became steadily more defiant.

Seth lifted his controller. "I was just going to ask if you are any good at Ninja Quest."

Marissa picked at the eggs on her plate. She was seating in one of the bright red booths in the Lobster Shack. She was sitting alone. The table was full of empty and not-so-empty plates. To her left there was a large pile of ketchup sitting helplessly on the table top. Behind there was a display of plants secured to a wooden checkerboard-type separator. Marissa half thought about checking the plants to find out if they were real or plastic, though she didn't know why she did this since she could never tell what a real plant was supposed to feel like; behind the possibly real plants stood her best friend Summer. She was uh-huhing into her ridiculously small cell phone with an incredibly bored look of her face. Marissa knew that Summer's stepmother was on the other line telling her some story about how she needed to get away from all the stress of sitting around all day during nothing. That meant another weekend alone for Summer. Marissa felt her friend.

Behind Summer were Red Lobster's bathrooms with the names 'Buoys' and 'Gals' written on the two swinging doors. The Buoy door swung open and out stepped Marissa's boyfriend, Luke, a tall powerful water-polo playing young man. He walked past Summer who lowered her voice as she saw him approach. As he came round the plants he pulled a fat leather wallet from his back pocket and deposited several green bills on the table. "So, Hon, I got to go. The boys are waiting for me. We're going to take my dad's new jet skis out. See what they can do. You going hang with Summer?"

Marissa opened her mouth but before any sound could come out Luke had already picked up his jacket from beside her put it on his broad shoulders and moved down to kiss her. She closed her mouth, gave him a little peck, and nodded. Luke walked off giving the pretty young blonde waitress a grin as pushed open the door and walked out into the sunshine.

Marissa sat looking at the other customers in the restaurant. In the booth directly in front of her there was an old man with a small greying beard and thick glasses perched on the edge of his nose. Opposite the old man was a youngish bleach blonde woman with two clearly visible and probably surgically enhanced assets. The old man held a pen in his hand and would make occasional marks on his newspaper while his blonde companion was admiring herself in the reflection on the back of the spoon she was holding.

Summer came round from behind the possibly fake plants. She had a large fake smile on her face. Marissa uncomfortably smiled back. She didn't know if she should ask Summer what's wrong or whether she should ignore it completely. Luckily for her Summer made the decision. "You wanna go shopping?" Summer tried desperately to sound emotionless but a hint of pain crept into her voice.

Marissa nodded.

"You just stabbed me." Ryan said while desperately pressing buttons on his controllers.

Seth did not move his vision from the screen in front of him. "Yeah, it's a dog eat dog world."

Ryan turned to look at Seth. "We're on the same team."

Seth turned to look at Ryan. "There are teams?" He said surprised.

Ryan look dumbfounded for a moment then nodded.

"Oh." Seth said quietly. "I usually play this alone. Actually I've always played this alone."

Ryan turned back to the screen and started to press the buttons on his controller again. Seth followed suit.

Sandy walked in to the room his hair wet from surfing. He smiled when he saw Ryan and Seth playing a computer game together. "Hey, boys." Seth and Ryan looked up from their game. "Why aren't you outside on a glorious day like this?"

"Dad, we live in Orange County. They're all glorious days." Seth quipped.

Sandy chose to ignore his son's last comment. "Seth, why don't take Ryan to the shops. I'm sure he could do with a few extra clothes."

"I'm fine, Mr Cohen." Ryan said.

Seth turned to Ryan. "The old man's right. This is Newport. People wear three different shirts before breakfast."

"Old man?" Sandy asked.

"Anyway, it's not like you'll be paying for it, right?" Seth asked in the direction of his father.

"Right." Sandy confirmed getting out his wallet. "Here." He said handing his credit card to Seth. "Have fun." He thought for a moment. "Not too much fun. Remember I have itemised billing."

Marissa pulled up her car outside the latest one-word name chic boutique to open in Newport. Summer hopped out of the passenger side and her eyes lit up at the display of skirts in the window. "Coop, you have your dad's credit card, right?"

Marissa smiled while getting out of the car. "It's for emergency, Summer."

Summer cocked her head to one side. "This is an emergency." She said pointed at the big red sale sign in the window.

Marissa laughed and was about to join her friend in entering the shop but something stopped her. She turned her head and looked up the street. Coming out of a shop about fifty yards away was Seth followed by Ryan carrying six large bags. "Come on, Coop!" Summer shouted from inside the shop.

Just as Marissa was about to turn and go into the shop Ryan looked down the street towards Marissa. Their eyes met for a moment. A subtle smile drifted onto Marissa's face. Then Seth dragged Ryan across the street just as Summer grabbed Marissa's arm and pulled her into the shop.


	2. To The J

**Chapter 2 – To The J**

The sun hung lazily in the sky. The air was thick with moisture but a slow sea breeze provided a degree of comfort. A few people walked leisurely down the street their heads turned sideways glazing enviously at the items in the shop windows. The jewellery store at the bottom of the street glistened in the sunshine. In the distance the misty deep blue outline of the Pacific Ocean was visible. The sea was calm and its vast expanse punctuated occasionally by a brightly coloured windsurfer or an elegant small sailboat bopping methodically to the rhythm of the waves. Seth and Ryan sat outside at a table under an umbrella sipping a pair of mountain dews weighed heavy with ice. They looked out languidly on the scene before them. A pile of shopping bags was lying under the table in the gap between the two. A waitress with a white apron covering the upper half of her legs, a dark red shirt covering the upper half of her body, and her hair untidily tied up above her head, walked back and forward, in and out of the restaurant. Seth titled his head towards Ryan. "So, we'll hit J-Records and then go back."

"I don't need any records." Ryan said in a way that suggested he had been saying the same thing all day.

Seth smiled. "Sure, you do. Everyone needs a little Death Cab in their life."

"Death Cab?" Ryan asked confused.

"Bright Eyes?" Seth asked his voice slightly higher than normal.

Ryan shook his head.

"Rooney?" Seth almost pleaded.

Ryan shook his head again.

Seth's eyes grew wide with shock. "Oh, we're definitely going to the J."

"Oh, we're definitely going to J." Marissa said reading a poster stuck idly on the wall.

The poster alerted whoever read it to the outrageous cut-price sale happening at the hugely popular record store known simply as the J. The poster had been placed on the wall of an intentionally cluttered sea-themed diner. The poster stood behind a giant plastic swordfish hung at an obscure angle and sign warning in bold bright red letters of rocks ahead.

Summer raised her eyebrows at Marissa. "You wanna voluntary go to a place full of sad lonely teenage boys with greasy hair, patchy wannabe moustaches, and who wear all black regardless of the season."

"Uh-huh." Marissa nodded. "There's a sale on."

"A sale?" Summer asked her eyes lighting up. "Why didn't you say so?"

The J-Record store was everything Summer described it as and more. It was three levels of row after row of music. The store had everything. There were CDs, tapes, vinyl, and even a little section for downloading music onto an iPod. There was every genre represented from the latest flowery pop tune, to the newest Euro-disco dance disaster of a song, to the hottest R 'n B track full of all those nice little words bleeped out of the radio version. If you liked music then you loved the J.

"I love the J." Seth said as he surveyed the orgy of music as he was confronted with as he entered the store.

Ryan looked up seeing row after row of music. He couldn't help but be impressed.

"Okay, come on." Seth said leading the way into the jungle of music.

After the two boys disappeared into the crowd of sad lonely teenage boys in all black Marissa and Summer entered the store. One of the crowd brushed past Summer as he walked towards the exit. "Eww! He almost touched me." Summer said with disgust.

Marissa laughed. "Come on." She said leading Summer into one of the many rows.

They negotiated their way through the crowd of people and the narrow rows through to the section they Marissa was looking for, the punk section. She smiled as she saw the familiar names with red 'sale' tickets slapped on them. Summer looked around the section as if she had stumbled into a long-lost tomb full of rats and cobwebs. "Hurry up Coop before I catch something."

"I'll be just a minute." Marissa said disappearing around a corner.

Summer folded her arms and looked around. There was no one else in the aisle. She looked left, she looked right, there was definitely no one around. She gingerly unfolded her arms and reached down for one of the CDs. It had a crow on the front cover. Summer flipped it over and become reading the song titles. Just then he felt the presence of someone behind her left shoulder. She threw the CD back into the rack and spun round. Standing before her was a young man with short curly black hair and a geeky dress sense but at least he wasn't in black thought Summer.

"Hi, Summer." He said.

Oh my God he knows my name. He's a stalker!

"Err…hi." Summer said nervously.

She doesn't know my name. She probably thinks I'm a stalker or something.

"It's Seth. Seth Cohen."

Seth Cohen? Who the hell is Seth Cohen?

"Oh, right. Seth Cohen." Summer said.

She has no idea who I am.

"I live next door to Marissa." Seth said.

Then a bolt of realisation struck Summer. This was the Seth who Marissa had referred too. This was her geeky neighbour who thought he was better than everyone else. This was Seth Cohen.

"I know who you are." Summer said sarcastically.

She knows who I am? She knows who I am! I can't believe she knows who I am.

Marissa walked round the corner and straight into Ryan. He dropped the pile of CDs Seth had told him to hold while he went off to look for more. The CDs cascaded across the floor and Ryan dropped to his knees to pick them up. Marissa followed suit pulled a stray piece of hair before her ear as she did.

"I'm so sorry." Marissa said grabbing a CD.

"It's okay." Ryan said building a new pile of CDs in his hand.

Soon they had picked up all the errant CDs except for one. Marissa reached out for it just as Ryan did. Their hands met. They both looked up at the other. They stared into each other's eyes. Marissa felt the warmth of Ryan's hands on hers. Ryan felt the smoothest of Marissa's skin. Marissa smiled nervously. Ryan looked away. "Err…thanks." He said picked up the last CD and putting it on the pile in his right hand.

Ryan was about to ask Marissa something when Seth came round the corner; his face lit up with a giant smile. "Dude, I have amazing news." Then he noticed who was standing beside his new friend. His smile vanished. He uncomfortably looked at the ground. "Oh, hi Marissa."

"Hi, Seth." Marissa said, as Ryan looked on confused. Marissa turned her attention back to Ryan. "So, sorry about the whole bumping into you thing." Marissa gave him a smile before walking back around the corner.

"So, you and Marissa Cooper?" Seth asked with a grin on his face.

Ryan looked after Marissa then turned to look at Seth. "What? No."

"You know she lives next to me. To us." Seth said.

"She does?" Ryan asked.


	3. PreParty

Chapter 3 – Pre-Party 

"So, what do you think?" Seth asked.

"I think it's a terrible idea." Ryan replied folding one of his white shirts.

Seth looked shocked. "You do?" He got up from the seat he was sitting in and paced towards the door of the pool house then turned and looked back at Ryan. "Okay, what about if I send her an email? It's hip, it's cool, it's 21st century."

"I don't think it's the way you ask her that's the problem." Ryan said.

Seth shrugged then nodded his head. "I don't have her email address anyway, though…" Seth put up a finger and pointed it at Ryan. "You could get it for me. You're all nice and friendly with Marissa now."

Ryan put down the shirt and stared at Seth. "I'm not asking Marissa for Summer's email address. Anyway, don't you think it's a little early to ask Summer to sail to Tahiti with you. You've had, like, one conversation with her."

"I get what you're saying." Seth said with a grin. "Reel her in with a little bit of the Cohen charm then hit her with the Tahiti trip."

Ryan looked up from his shirts. "That's not what…"

"Good talk, man. Good talk." Seth said walking out of the pool house with a wide smile on his face.

"So, what do you think?" Marissa asked.

"I think it's a terrible idea." Summer replied pulling off the top she was trying on in front of Marissa's mirror in her bedroom.

Marissa looked shocked. "You do?"

"He's from Chino." Summer said with disgust staring at Marissa through the mirror.

"So?" Marissa asked.

Summer picked up a top and pulled it over her shoulders and looked at herself in the mirror. "What does he know about Newport parties?"

"All we do is get drunk. I'm sure they do that in Chino too." Marissa said.

Summer turned round and looked at her friend. "Yeah, well, what's Luke going to say?"

Marissa looked down at the ground. "I'm sure he won't mind." She said unconvincingly.

"I suppose Ryan is kind of hot in that brooding bad boy sort of way. Maybe it isn't such a bad idea to invite him to the party." Summer said with a glint in her eye.


	4. The Painful Shape

Chapter 4 - The Painful Shape

The sun beat down brilliantly on Habor high school. Marissa and Summer made their way into the school courtyard. Ryan and Seth were just arriving having been driven to school by Sandy. After taking a couple of paces pass a palm tree Marissa looked to her left and spotted Ryan getting out of Sandy's car. "I'll see you in class." She said to Summer before making her way over. Summer stared after her for a minute but shrugged her shoulders and walked into the school building.

Seth had a skateboard in his hand ready to drop it on the ground and Ryan was adjusting the strap on his shoulder. Marissa approached them from the side. They stopped as they saw her. She pushed a stray strand of hair behind her left ear. "Hey." She said.

"Hey." Ryan responded while Seth just raised his hand.

"So, there's this party..." Marissa said leaving the last word trailing in the air.

"Party, huh?" Seth said deep in thought. "I have to go." He stood for a moment before quickly walking off.

"Is he always that strange?" Marissa asked.

"Pretty much." Ryan answered.

Marissa smiled. "So, what do you think?"

"Are you asking me to the party?" Ryan asked.

"Are you coming?" Marissa asked.

Ryan thought for a moment. "Sure."

"Great." Marissa said with a large grin.

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Inside the school corridor students busily went to and fro. Summer's legs could be seen beneath an open locker door. Seth took a minute to appreciate the view. After making sure he had the visual stored in his mind that he slowly walked up to her.

"Oh, hey Summer. Seth Cohen." Seth said pointing to himself.

Summer's shoulders slumped.

"Remember me? Record store? Overwhelming ... tension?" Seth asked knowingly.

Summer slammed her locked door shut. "Nope."

Seth looked uncomfortable. "Really?" He asked nervously.

Summer looked up and saw the desperation in his eyes. Her features softened. "I may perhaps possibly know what you're talking about."

A huge smile crossed Seth's face. "Seared on your memory, huh?"

"Oh, God." Summer said with regret.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Well, not a lot but, actually not at all." Seth mumbled.

"There's a surprise." Summer commented.

"Anyway, I hear there's a party this weekend." He said.

"There is?" She asked with fake surprise.

"Uh-huh. I was wondering if you were going." He asked nervously.

"I might be." She said reluctantly.

"See you there?" He asked.

"Hopefully not." She replied sharply.

"You can pretend all you want but we both know the truth." He said.

"What truth would that be?" She asked.

"That you find me irresistible." He said with a grin.

"Uh-huh. Well, let's put that theory to the test." She said walking away.

"Summer, you can't fight science! Resistance is futile!" Seth shouted earning him several suspicious looks from passers-by.

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Ryan took a book out of his locker, shut the door and started to head off to class when a large muscular water polo player blocked his path.

"I hear Marissa invited you to Holly's party?" Luke asked.

"Yeah." Ryan replied.

"You two seem to be getting on very well." Luke said.

"Err...yeah." Ryan said not knowing where this was leading.

"A little too well." Luke said.

"Look, man. Nothing is going on." Ryan answered

"Oh, I know. Marissa would never sully herself with w... t... like you." Luke sneered

"What did you say?" Ryan said clenching his fist and squaring up to Luke.

"You heard me, Chino." Luke said aggressively.

Ryan relaxed his fist. "I'm not going to fight you."

"Then I better not see you at the party. Because if I do the water polo team is going to give you an OC welcome you'll never forgive." Luke said threateningly before walking away.

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Ryan was through the courtyard when Marissa saw him. She stopped talking to her friends and made her way over.

"Ryan?" She said.

"Oh, hi." Ryan said. "I need to talk to you."

"Err...okay." Marissa said wondering where this was leading.

"Yeah. About the party..." Ryan paused. "I'm not going."

"You're not?" Marissa asked surprised. "Why?"

"Well, I have a big test to study for..." Ryan trailed away on the last word.

"In the first week?" Marissa asked.

"Yeah. Plus I promised Sandy and Kirsten I wouldn't get into any trouble." Ryan said.

"You won't get in trouble." Marissa replied quickly.

"That's not what your boyfriend said." Ryan commented.

"What?" Marissa asked.

"Nothing." Ryan dismissed.

"No, what's Luke been saying to you?" Marissa demanded.

"Just that I should stay away." Ryan answered

"From me?" Marissa asked.

Ryan nodded.

"I can't believe him. Who does he think he is to tell me who I can and can't hang out with?" Marissa exploded.

"Look, he was just being protective." Ryan said calmly.

"Untrusting more like. You have to come to the party now." Marissa replied.

Ryan smiled. "And get in the middle of you and Luke? No, thanks."

He walked away before Marissa could say anything leaving her standing alone regretting what she had just said.

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Ryan lay on the bed in his pool house reading a comic book. The sudden opening of the pool house door interrupted him. Seth stepped in.

"You're not going to the party?" He asked.

"Nope." Ryan said turning the page.

"You have to go." Seth replied

"No, I don't." Ryan said.

"Dude, Summer will be there." Seth said.

"So?" Ryan asked,

"I need a wing-man. You're Goose to my Maverick." Seth said.

"You can still go." Ryan replied

"Oh, I'm still going I just want some back-up. You know, we're brothers now. This is what brothers do." Seth said.

"Help you hook-up with some girl?" Ryan asked.

Seth remained silent for a few seconds. "Not just some girl. I named my boat after her!"

"Yeah, I wouldn't tell her that. It might sound a little creepy." Ryan said.

"You see? This is the kind of wing-man advice I need." Seth said.

"I'm not going." Ryan stated flatly.

Seth thought for a moment. "Fine, I understand. It's okay to be scared."

"I'm not scared." Ryan said defiantly.

"No, Luke is a big strong man with big strong muscles..." Seth said.

"Are you trying to hook-up with Summer or Luke?" Ryan asked.

"Very funny. You'll need a sense of humour after everyone starts going you Cowardly McCoward." Seth said.

Ryan put down the comic book. "Look, your parents letting me in is, like, the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I don't want to risk that or punching some punk water polo player."

"Okay." Seth paused for a moment. "I'll bring you the new Legion. It's really good."

"Thanks, man." Ryan said with a smile.


	5. The Funk

Chapter 5 – The Funk

Seth checked himself in the full-length mirror in his bedroom. He was wearing black jeans, an expensive black Italian blazer, and an orange and blue polo shirt. He ran a hand through his hair. He opened his mouth wide and checked his teeth. He breathed heavily on his hand and brought it up to his nose and sniffed the air. He picked up a blue bottle of colon and sprayed his neck then sniffed the air again. He took one final look in the mirror then headed out of the door. A few seconds passed until Seth reappeared to check himself in the mirror again then he exited the room again.

Ryan sat on the floor of the pool house, Playstation controller in his hand, wearing his usual white wife-beater, and scruffy jeans. He wildly pressed the buttons to which the television responded with aggressive grunts and the sweet sound of metal entering flesh. Through the window Ryan could see that darkness had fallen and guessed that any minute now Seth would appear.

Seth walked through the kitchen on his way to the pool house. Sitting on a kitchen stool and reading the paper was his father. He passed only for his father to sniff the air as he went by. Seth stopped dead in his tracks. "What? What?" He demanded frantically of his father.

His father hesitated for a moment then dismissed the thought. "Nothing."

"No, what? Too much? Too funky? Do I smell too much of funk?" Seth asked frantically.

Sandy smiled at his son's eagerness. "Big date?"

"Yeah. Well, not exactly." Seth mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Sandy asked.

"Instead of a nice romantic meal with just the two of us it'll be a large party with everyone at school." Seth said.

"You're going to a party?" Sandy asked with raised eyebrows.

"Don't freak." Seth demanded

"I'm not freaking." Sandy said quickly.

"Come on, Dad. It looks like you're freaking." Seth complained.

"What sort of party?" Sandy asked.

"I dunno. It's a party." Seth replied.

"Will there be alcohol?" Sandy asked.

"Of course not." Seth said quickly.

"Seth." Sandy said firmly.

"Almost certainly but I won't be drinking any." Seth said calmly.

"Drugs?" Sandy asked.

"You finally find your bong?" Seth asked.

"Seth!" Sandy said with a raised voice.

"No. I won't be doing any drugs either." Seth answered.

Sandy thought for a moment. "All right, you can go. But be back by twelve."

"Oh, come on..." Seth complained.

"Son, pick your battles carefully." Sandy said quietly.

"Fine." Seth pouted.

"Who's the girl?" Sandy asked with a smile.

"Summer." Seth said embarrassed.

"Ahh...Summer." Sandy said thoughtfully. "Hope you two have a lovely date."

"Yeah, well, she doesn't exactly know about the date." Seth said looking at the ground.

"What?" Sandy asked.

"I may have forgotten to mention that part to her." Seth said.

"Son, she can't say yes if you don't ask her." Sandy said with conviction.

"Thanks for that sage piece of advice, pops." Seth said with a subtle grin.

Sandy sniffed the air. "And you might want to cut back on the funk."

"I knew it!" Seth shouted before storming back up the stairs.

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There was a knock on the pool house door. That's unusual, thought Ryan. Seth doesn't normally knock. "Come in!" He shouted from the floor.

In through the doorway stepped Sandy. Ryan paused his game. "What's up?" He asked.

Sandy looked behind himself then took a seat on the edge of Ryan's bed. "At this party tonight do you mind looking out for Seth?"

"Oh." Ryan said shifting his gaze to the ground. "I'm not going."

"You're not?" Sandy asked surprised. "Why not?"

"Well, it's complicated." Ryan said with a grimace.

"Women problems, huh?" Sandy ran a hand through his hair. "If it's any consolation it doesn't get any easier. Look, I don't want to put you in an awkward situation but it would really mean a lot if you could make sure Seth was okay. He doesn't exactly get out much. A big party, alcohol, girls..."

"Yeah." Ryan said with realisation. "I can see why you'd worry."

"So, you'll go?" Sandy asked hopefully.

Ryan thought for a moment then nodded his head.

"Great. Make sure you're back by twelve. Don't drink any alcohol. And remember no matter how bad it may get with your girl at least you're not married." Sandy said with a smile.

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Inside her bedroom Marissa was trying on an outfit in front of the mirror. Luke was sitting on her bed with a bored look on his face. Marissa turned to her boyfriend.

"Luke, you really got to stop being so jealous." Marissa said.

Luke got up and walked over to his girlfriend and put his large hands around her exposed arms. "I can't help it seeing all those guys macking on you makes me so..." Luke clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and then released them. "Anyway, it's not like I can blame them." He said taking her face in his hands.

Marissa stared through her deep hazel eyes into his. "Don't you trust me?" She asked with a pout.

"I do trust you." Luke replied. "I just don't trust them."

"I suppose it's kind of sweet that you're so protective towards me." Marissa said with a smile. "You just have to promise me that you'll try harder in the future. Relationships are built on trust not suspicion."

"I promise." Luke said sincerely. "Now, are we going to this party or not?"

Marissa gave Luke a peck on the lips before heading into her closet. "Just give me a minute." After a few seconds she threw out the dress she previously had on. It landed in Luke's hand. He looked down at it and smiled.

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Seth came into the pool house sniffing his armpits. He looked around but could not see Ryan. "Hey, Ryan! I've come to convince you to go to the party. I'm not accepting no for an answer. Think about it, alcohol, dangerously loud music, girls passed out in a pool of their own vomit, there's no way you could miss out on all that."

Ryan came out of the back of the pool house in the middle of putting on a designer dark blue shirt. "I'm going."

Seth thought for a minute, looked at Ryan getting dressed, then proclaimed, "Man, I'm good."

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Summer took a gulp from the vodka and coke in her right hand. She grimaced as she swallowed. "Man, that's strong."

The teenage boy standing beside her, looked at the cup in his hand, and smiled. "I know." He said proudly.

Summer gave him an awkward look. "I have to be going over there now." She said pointing vaguely in the opposite direction.

The boy nodded then took a gulf of his drink and smiled, evidently very pleased with his handiwork. Summer raised her eyebrows and stuck out her hand. "What. Ev." She said quietly to herself.

She walked away from the kitchen tabletop covered with empty bottles of vodka, whiskey, and gin. She sidestepped the growing pile of empty coke and Pepsi bottles in the corner of the kitchen. She smiled at a couple she kind of knew from school who were making their way into the kitchen. The music was blasting out of a top of the range stereo system situated on a wooden shelf on the side of the open-plan living room that Summer had just walked too. The song that was playing was the latest bump 'n grind song from some popular black singer with funny hair and a one syllable name that she could never quite remember. There were a few couples on the make-shift dance floor in the middle of the floor but mostly people were standing around in groups with a cup in their hand. Summer walked over to one group of teenage girls. They were staring nervously at a group of teenage boys at the other end of the room. "Is he looking?" One of the bleached-blonde girls asked in desperate tone.

The two girls standing either side of her flicked their eyes in the direction of the boys' then shook their heads.

"Damn." The bleached-blonde said. "What is wrong with him? Even Michael Jackson would notice me in this skirt."

Summer casually walked up to the group. "What's up?" She asked.

The bleach-blonde sidekick closest to Summer was the first to respond. "Nikki is trying to hook up with Matt."

Summer looked across the room at the object of Nikki's desire. Matt was six foot one inch tall of all-American grade-A hunk. Summer used have a thing for him before she accidentally walked into the wrong toilets and saw him shaving his chest. She didn't care if it made him swim faster; It was just wrong!

Then Summer's mouth dropped. A boy walked up besides Matt who was the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. He was everything she had ever imagined her dream boyfriend to be. "Who is that?" She managed to ask.

"That." One of the girls said nodding her head in the direction of the boy. "That's Zach."


	6. Boys of Summer

Chapter 6 – Boys of Summer

Zach stood six foot, two inches tall, with light brown hair flopping down from his head in a pleasing and fashionable manner. His light blue eyes spoke of conviction and gentleness, while his athletic strong body conveyed strength and dexterity. He was the all-American son. He had the presence of a leader, the looks of a model, and the good-nature of a popular friendly guy. He was the sort of guy every girl dreams of taking home to their parents. He had recently moved to Orange County where his Senator father had brought a new beachside property to relax away from the stress and power politics of Washington. He had joined the water polo team and soon had a collection of friends to rival his previous LA high school. He had been so accepted so quickly he had begun to think he had found his natural home. The sun-kissed streets of the OC looked paved with gold to Zach Freeman.

Summer raised a hand up to her head and ran it through her hair. She briefly glanced across the room to where Zach was standing and talking with his friends. When his gaze drifted over to her and the group of girls she was with she quickly darted her eyes to the floor. She couldn't help her cheeks burning red and the nervous butterflies from flying in her stomach. One of her friends noticed her strange behaviour.

"Are you okay?" Christie asked.

Summer looked up at her surprised to find other people in the room. "What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Summer could not help herself looking back at Zach as she said this.

Christie followed Summer's gaze across the room to Zach and smiled. "He's single, you know."

"Huh? Who?" Summer asked with as much blasé as she could muster.

Christie gave her a grin. "Zach." She leaned down to Summer's ear and whispered. "Some of the girls have already tried." Summer became wide-eyed at this. "Apparently he's waiting for that someone special; seems like he's one of those romantic types." Christie said with undisguised cynicism.

Summer looked up at Christie. "Thank you."

Christie smiled down at her and nodded.

Summer turned her attention back to Zach and saw him walk off in the direction of the drinks table. She returned to Christie but she had already started talking to another one of the girls about the latest pink skirt fashion coming out of Milan. Summer started to make her way towards the drinks table. She did not see as she left the twinkle in Christie's eyes as she saw Summer leave, nor did she notice the front door of the house opening revealing two sharply dressed young men.

Seth saw Summer walking across the room. "There she is." He almost shouted to Ryan, partly to be heard over the incredibly loud music and partly due to the uncontrollable excitement he felt. "Don't wait up." He said. Ryan nodded. Seth pushed his way through the crowd of people putting himself on a collision course with Summer.

The loud heavy bass from the high-end thousand dollar speaker system slowly shook the family portraits on the peach-coloured walls. A haze of smoke hung near the ceiling preventing much of the light from the embedded bulbs from reaching the rest of the room. It was like a young early morning sun petulantly forcing itself through a polluted settled cloud hanging over the city of angels. A mass of bodies writhed, occasionally in time, to the hypnotic rhythm, as they systemically shredded what little clothes they were wearing. A pile of expensive ties lied crumpled in a corner of the house like a metaphor to the wasteful consumerism so worshipped by the inhabitants of this west coast paradise. But all Seth saw was her. A light shone from an unknown source highlighting her every feature. Her raven black hair blinded him as it fall effortlessly down her back caressing her smooth nimble shoulders like a father stroking the head of his firstborn son for the first time. Her feet, clad in a pair of beautiful red high-heeled shoes, seemed to drift off the floor carrying her fluently through the air like an elegant angel. Her skin gave off a glow of natural beauty that made him wonder whether there had every existed a creature so beautiful in all of eternity. He knew, in that moment, he would be forever bound to this girl. She was his Juliet.

Summer pushed her way through the mass of bodies before her. Due to her diminished statute she could not see to far ahead of herself. She hoped she was heading in the right direction and she prayed that Zach had not wandered off, or worst, had been assailed by some leggy blonde bimbo with a higher cup size than IQ. She pushed part some guy doing the robot, badly. _Hello? It's not 1984._ In the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of something, or rather someone. No, it was less than a glimpse. It was a feeling. It hit her like a pile of bricks. She stopped boxed in by four gyrating couples. Her eyes closed, only for a moment, as she let herself feel this strange emotion. It felt like a sitting by a roaring log fire on a snowing winters' day. It felt like smelling freshly cut grass on a glorious summers' day. It felt like belonging. Her eyes opened and her body turned and the glimpse became a figure and the figure became a boy. This boy stood about ten feet away her and was just staring at her. He was stood absolutely still and focused entirely upon her. Yet he had failed to notice that she was now staring back at him. For moment Summer looked straight in his eyes and completely lost herself. The world around seemed to fade away leaving only the two of them, standing, staring. Then it was gone. The world came rushing back when a rogue football landed squarely in the boy's face causing him to fall back in a clumsy crumple of collapsing limbs until he found himself, rather bewildered, lying on the floor, much to the amusement of the crowd of people in his immediate vicinity. Summer struggled vainly to recognise the boy. She searched every part of her memory but came up blank. She dismissed it from her mind and carried on pushing her way through the bodies.


End file.
